"Tension"

For the last several months I have been feeling "tension" in  my life in several areas. I am not alone in this. I was talking to several friends from high school and they were feeling overwhelmed with full time jobs, family obligations and helping with aging parents. We feel "tension" because we have so many obligations and we do not know how we will have the time to do everything we feel we need to do. Or, how we will have time for our own refreshment.

I also feel "tension" at my job. Because I work in retail, the bottom line is how our sales are doing day in and day out. It becomes easy for me to think I am doing a good job when sales are good, but I can lose sleep when things are not going as well as I would like them to go. I can become obsessed with all of the jobs that need to be done each day.

However, I need to always remember what is really most important at work each day. Yes, the sales and the bottom line are important. But, when I allow that to be more important than the volunteers and the customers, I focus on the wrong thing. I feel a frequent "tension" to make sure I keep my eyes on the best thing and that is loving others. That seems easy to do when I spend time with God each morning. It is another thing when I walk into the door of the store and I come face to face with difficult situations and people that are sometimes hard to love.

And now it is Christmas and the Advent season. Wow, do I feel "tension." The world tells me how to have a "perfect" Christmas by decorating a certain way, baking all the right things and buying the right presents. It all makes me feel like I should not sleep between now and Christmas so I can get all the things done that will make my Christmas perfect.

But, is that what I want my Christmas and my Advent to be about this year? Or, do I want to take time this month to prepare my heart for the greatest gift the world has ever received, a baby come to earth. And so, I have been taking time this short and hectic season to focus on the greatest gift I ever received. I have been trying to spend some time in silence and solitude to listen for the quiet words that God wants to speak into my heart each day. I have been reading a Christmas devotional by Ann Voskamp called "The Greatest Gift." My heart has been touched by God's grace, love, patience and tenderness to me as this book takes us through scriptures to the coming birth of Jesus. What an example Jesus is to me as I remember that He willingly left the splendor of heaven to come to earth--for me.

And so, I will continue to feel "tension" as I walk through my life day by day. It is the "tension" of knowing how I want to live to please the God who loves me, but also knowing that I live in a world full of sin. I will continue to ask questions, and work through this "tension." My desire is to learn to keep my eyes on the things that truly matter for eternity. I will be asked if I am ready for Christmas. I hope my answer will be that I am preparing both my home and my heart for this Christmas season.

Deb Riddell
Closet Manager

A Carrot, An Egg, and a Cup of Coffee

As I reflected on what to share this month for the New Hope Blog I came across this story. I found it applicable to me for this past month has been one of hills and valleys for my family. How interesting it is to see how people respond to the difficult events that come to us in life.

“A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to permit you to see how blessed you really are.

Connie Hanten, BCMCLC

New Hope Christian Life Coach

Jesus' Recipe for Popcorn - Part 2

Jesus has a special unique recipe for POPCORN – and it involves us!

JESUS’ RETURN TO GLORY GIVES US GRACE

We know from many eyewitness accounts that Jesus the resurrected Theanthropos (God-Man), appeared for 40 days after He rose from the grave.

During this brief time period, He also interacted with many people in the visible, physical realm of ongoing historical human existence, so that He could strengthen, encourage, and through the Holy Spirit (LUKE 24:45, ACTS1:1-11) to finish His teaching and training of His first disciples.

This post-resurrection period culminated in Jesus’ physical ascent to heaven, even while these disciples watched Him from the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. The amazing ascension event was followed up immediately, with an incredible angelic promise verbalized to the disciples who had been watching Jesus depart, concerning His visible and physical return in the same way to that same place!

In EPHESIANS 4:8 -10, Paul describes Jesus’ ascension as a visible sign to us, of His absolute spiritual victory over every false authority on earth (the cosmos world system of humanity) and under the earth (the dark demonic network of invisible powers, principalities, world rulers of darkness, and spiritual powers of evil). 

EPHESIANS 4:¹⁰ He Who descended is the [very] same as He Who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest).

In the full exaltation of His ascension back into the Father’s Presence, Jesus fully manifested His triumph over all opposition, both natural and supernatural, completing His mission as the ultimate overcomer.

Jesus passed not only above all lower realms, both physical and spiritual, while destroying the works of the devil in each sphere, but concluded His sojourn on the earth, positioned with His Father together at the maximal spiritual pinnacle, highest over all the created universe and above ALL the heavens for eternity.

Only the Divine Person Jesus, God the Son and Son of Man, could be exalted alongside His Father God, above all the heavens forever!
 

Only the infinite Lord of All, Jesus Christ, could then proceed to fill all in all, which literally means to make complete in every particular, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to flood, to diffuse throughout, to pervade, to take possession of and to ultimately control the whole universe, so that from lowest to highest realms might be filled entirely with His boundless Presence! 

As the apostle Paul states unequivocally in EPHESIANS 1:21-23, when Jesus ascended to His throne, He became positioned as the God-Man reigning absolutely over His new creation:

Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

The Father has put all things under His feet and appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],  Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].

Neil Uniacke
Executive Director

Thanksgiving "vignettes"

It’s that wonderful time of the year again…the time we call Thanksgiving. How thankful have you been in the past year? I want to share a few short Thanksgiving “vignettes” with you that call us to reflect on how thankful we really are.
 

Vignette #1: Dr. H.A. Ironside, a well-known Presbyterian minister from Philadelphia in the early 1900s, once walked into a crowded restaurant for lunch. Just as he was beginning his meal, a man approached Ironside and asked if he could join him at his table. Pastor Ironside invited the man to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked: “Do you have a headache?” “No, I don’t,” replied Ironside. The other man asked, “Well then, is something wrong with your food?” Ironside replied, “I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat. “

Ironside’s guest then said, “Oh, so you’re one of those guys, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks to anyone. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I’ve become successful on my own energy and intelligence. I don’t have to give thanks to anyone when I eat. I just start right in!”

To which the pastor replied: “Yeah, that’s just like my dog at home. That’s what he does, too!”

Vignette #2: Many of us have heard of Captain Miles Standish, who came with the Pilgrims in 1620 to Massachusetts. We know the story; that first winter many of their group died. Standish’s wife, Rose, was seriously ill and was confined to the Mayflower, which was anchored in the harbor. Rose’s chills would turn to uncontrollable shaking and there were no medicines to cure her. By spring of 1621, only 5 wives remained of the 18 who had come to Plymouth. Rose was not among them.

Thanksgiving? What was that? The golden dreams of a new world that Standish and Rose had cherished together had evaporated into hollow hopes. And yet Captain Standish joined other bereaved Pilgrims in that first Thanksgiving celebration.

The real test of thankfulness is whether we can give thanks from the heart for what we do have, despite the wounds and pain of yesterday’s struggles. Ours in not some fair-weather faith, but a resilient trust in the midst of pain and struggle. The Pilgrims lived close to the edge of survival. Perhaps that is why they were so thankful.

Vignette #3: During the Great Depression of the 1930s, when it was at its worst, one day a group of men was sitting together discussing the sad state of affairs. One of them was a Methodist minister and college professor, William Stidger. The conversation concerned the decline in commerce and grew more dismal at every moment. But as Thanksgiving Day was near, another minister chimed in: “I have to preach on Thanksgiving Day. I want to say something affirmative, but how can I do that in such a period of depression and gloom like this?”

Pastor Stidger began to think of the blessings HE had enjoyed in life, and the things for which he was truly thankful. He remembered one of his teachers from school whom he hadn’t heard from or contacted in many years. Although it was years ago, he still remembered how she had gone out of her way to instill a love of poetry and literature in him, and Stidger had loved poetry and literature ever after that. So he wrote a letter to this now quite elderly woman. This is the reply she sent him. Barely legible because of her trembling hands, it began: “My dear Willie.” He was thrilled to read that. Stidger was over 50 years of age, balding, and a bit of a “pudgie” seminary professor, and he didn’t think there was anyone left in the world to call him “Willie.” Here is some of what Stidger’s school teacher wrote:

My dear Willie, I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am now in my 80s, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind.

You will be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years and yours is the first note of appreciation I have ever received. It came on a blustery, cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.

Stidger was not a sentimental man, but he wept over that note. There were numerous other notes he wrote during the next weeks, thanking people who’d had a vital part in shaping his life.

Who do you need to thank today?

Submitted by Tom Horst, MA MFT

Marriage and Family Therapist

A Special Blessing

On Friday evening, November 1, 2013, I had the honor of being the invited guest speaker for a Pastor Appreciation Service. The two pastors (a married couple) were my former pastors. I have known them for many years. I was asked to share my testimony and how these two pastors have influenced my life. I talked about how I have "[followed their] example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1).

I shared about how, through God's help and the help of others like these two individuals, I embarked on a journey from a young single parent on welfare to go on and earn my doctorate in social work. As I shared with those in attendance, I could certainly testify to the truth that "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

I think I was blessed most of all when one of the pastors gave the invitation to accept Jesus Christ following my testimony. A teenage girl came forward. I was very overwhelmed with joy. I went to be a blessing to the pastors by sharing how they had impacted my life. A young woman was blessed as she decided to give her heart to Jesus (I trust that the other people there received a blessing as well). And I was truly blessed by pouring out what the Holy Spirit had given me to impart.

After I ended my story, I reminded everyone that my story is not over. I know this because in John 15:16 it says, "I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit..." I will continue to seek the Lord's guidance and strength so that I can continue to bear the fruit that he has left for me. Will you do the same?

Ann L. Gantt, Ph.D., LCSW
New Hope Counselor

Survival

Fall is a beautiful time of year. The trees change their color, the air is crisp and clean, and the squirrels scamper about to collect food for the winter. I was recently reminded during my devotions one morning that we don't prepare for the "winters" of our life. Winter in our life can be the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of our home or any other type of loss. So how do we survive our "winters"?

In order to survive we often have to come up with a "new normal" and it isn't easy to make changes or accept change. With the death of my father this year it has brought with it the beginning of a lot of "firsts" without him: birthdays, Sunday lunches, and soon we will experience Thanksgiving and Christmas without Dad. When my mother died 37 years ago my siblings and I had to bond together with our dad in order to survive and now we have to move forward once again.

So how do we get through all of our roller coaster emotions? My dad's favorite verse was Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." At first it is hard to imagine any good coming from difficult times; however, we don't know the whole story--only God does. All we see is a little sliver.

So how do we survive? We have two choices every day. Either we pull the covers up over our heads and don't deal with the situation or we face the situation head on and turn it into a positive. This is not always an easy task but life isn't easy. How we choose to deal with our "winters" determines who we will become through Christ.

Elaine Campbell, MA, MHC

Jesus' Recipe For Popcorn - Part 1

Jesus has a special unique recipe for POPCORN – and it involves us!

IT ALL BEGINS WITH JESUS’ LIFE AND DEATH

Jesus has a deep desire – to set us free from the constraints of our own pasts, to transform us into His own image, both individually and corporately, and to make us more usable for His Kingdom purposes while taking us forward in fulfilling our true eternal destinies.

In order to do this, He has poured out His own life, and in the end every drop of His blood, to perfectly fulfill all the requirements of righteousness on our behalf, and to ransom us completely.

 

Jesus initiated this pouring out of His life at His incarnation, literally fulfilling the eternal decrees of the Triune Godhead, by leaving behind His pre-incarnate existence as God the Son, and entering into physical reality and human history, as the divine Son of Man, to be birthed and live a fully human existence like each one of us! 

John’s Gospel so eloquently describes this ultimate spiritual reality for us in his 1^st chapter. Capping that beginning section of the chapter, John tells us:

JOHN 1: ¹⁶ For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.¹⁷ For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.¹⁸ No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].

Jesus’ perfect, pure, sinless life on the earth, His completed work on the cross, His glorious resurrection victory over death, and His ascendant supremacy to His eternally exalted position at the right hand of His Father, are the fountain of all supernatural blessings, the only sure foundation for our salvation, His sanctifying graces to us, and His power given to us for His eternal purposes in and through us.

Out of this same sure foundation, we receive the ongoing present-day work of His continued heavenly intercession for each of us, as well as His release of all the necessary enablement and empowerment for any of us to walk with Him each day in triumph.

 

Neil Uniacke

Executive Director